Adventure in New York
by Nick-wild161
Summary: Lady, Tramp and their family head to New York for a get away. All goes well till till the family is split up, leaving a couple of them lost in an unfamiliar and dangerous suroundin. To help them get back home, and maybe teach them a couple of things, they'll need help from someone who's tapped into the rythem of the city and has some street savoire faire.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone. Just want to make 2 things clear. 1) this is my first story, so to help me improve feel free to leave a comment. Just don't be too brutal. 2) I'm making this up as I go along. Bear that in mind.**

 **Oh, and one more thing, do u think this chapter is too short? It just doesn't look as long as some of the others. Could just be me.**

 **Anyway enjoy**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Intro**

New Old England town

The sun was shining hi in the sky, with oranges, reds and yellows mixed into the background. In the back garden of a big house, 4 excitable pups ran around the grass and through the bushes and flowerbeds playing "it" with each other while two adult dogs lazed in the sun on the porch.

One of these dogs was a pure-bred cocker spaniel with different shades of brown fur and floppy ears. The other was a shaggy grey mutt, allot taller than the spaniel. His fur, once tangled and unkempt was now clean (but retained its shaggy appearance) thanks to proper care off the streets.

"Don't you just love days like these tramp?" asked lady. Tramp smiled back at her "Yeah. Clear skies, warm sun, who could ask for any more?" His smile wavered for a second, but long enough for Lady to notice.

"What's wrong dear?"

"Well. It's just days like these sometimes make me miss my old life, you know? No responsibilities, all the time in the world to do whatever you want, hardly any worry's." Lady looked upset "But I thought you liked it hear with Jim dear and Darling and the pups, and me?"

"I do. I really really do pige, and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. I just get a bit reminiscent sometimes. But I love every minute of it, and I love you even more." Tramp licked Lady's nose. "I love you to tramp." They snuggled together watching their children play. As the sun was setting to a orange, purple and blue sky they heard the sound on Darling calling them in. "Common everyone-" Said Darling "-We've got a long journey ahead of you tomorrow and you need your rest."

The pups came bounding in, one of them, Annette blurted excitedly " I can't wait till tomorrow! I'm so looking forward to New York." Lady laughed "It will be a big adventure, but you will enjoy it. Maybe it will give you a new lease of life." Giving tramp a smile side glance while also addressing her daughter.

The next morning all the bags were packed and in the car, then the dogs, then Jim Jr and lastly Jim dear and Darling in the front. The drive from New Old England town to New York would take more than one day; so about two thirds of the way into the journey they stayed overnight in a hotel. As the dogs were cooped up in the car for a long time (despite three stops to stretch legs) they were taken on a walk. During the walk Jim dear and Darling decided to have some dinner, so they all sat outside an Italian cafe. While the humans ate, all but one of the pups strained at their leads to try and experience all the new sights, smells and tastes of their surroundings.

"Wow! Look at that" said Scamp

"Did you smell that man? It was so wearied" exclaimed Annette

"Smell that air-" said Danielle, taking a deep breath in. "-Like nothing I've smelt before, almost... Dirty! That's it! It smells Dirty!" Lady also looked about in wonder, but tramp couldn't hep having his attention drawn toward Collette, the youngest of all the pups and the only one not having a good time.

"What's the matter Collette?" tramp asked, laying down next to her.

"I Don't like it here," she said sulkily. "It's loud and smelly and unfamiliar. I want to go home."

"Yeah, it is a bit more active than what you're use to. But you should at least give it a chance." Tramp rolled onto his back and stretched his legs in the air "Start making some memories."

"But what if something bad happens?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know, what if a gang of dog tries to eat me cos I'm so small? Or I get lost?" Tramp rolled onto his front. "Then they'll have to get through me first," He raised his head proudly, almost looking regal, "The best street dog in New Old England Town." This got a laugh from Collette.

"Were not in New Old England Town dad," chimed in Annette. "Yeah. and you're not a street dog any more dad. You gave it up to be with mum." Tramp's head lowered a little bit, "Yeah I did." His head raided again even higher and he looked at lady, "And I don't regret a single second of it." Lady and Tramp shared a warm look with each other. He turned back to his daughter, "Nothing bad is going to happen to you, just enjoy yourself."

This brightened Collette up. The Darlings finished their dinner and they all took a slow walk back to the hotel. "Such a wonderful night Jim Dear. And the hotel's very nice, don't you think?" Asked Darling. "Indeed it is, but I'm looking forward to my brothers mansion, and seeing my brother for that matter. It's been at least two years since we saw each other face to face."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: New York, New York**

The sun slowly rose from behind the wall of buildings and sky scrapers that made the iconic sky line of New York City. Rays of sunshine shot through a window, landing on a spot on the soft carpeted floor of the Foxworths library. In that spot was a ginger cat enjoying a nap while a girl, about 9 or 10, was playing a grand piano.

The cat was relaxed and enjoying the morning, until the doorbell rang disturbing him from his peaceful slumber. Oliver lifted his head and rubbed the sleep dust out of his eyes. He herd Mr Foxworths Voice from downstairs. "Jimmy! Vanessa! About time you to made it."

"Hi Dave. We would have been hear sooner, but the traffic's so bad here." Jim was fumbling with loads of bag while Vanessa held a 2 year old boy in one hand and 6 dog leads in the other. A butler came over to Jim, "Would you like me to assist you with your bags sir?" Jim Smiled "If you don't mind my good man."

Upstairs Jenney jumped down from her piano stool, flung open the door and ran down the stairs. At the same time a white and blue pure bred poodle carried herself into the room with an annoyed air about her. "Six!-" she cried over dramatically "They have six dog! Winston never told me they had six dogs. And four of them are puppies! I hate puppies" She sat next to Oliver and pouted.

"Cheer up Georgette. I'm a cat and I love dogs more than you. But you might like them. Remember there was a time you hated me too. But you like me now" said Oliver. "Don't flatter yourself pipsqueak. I don't like you, I tolerate you. There's a difference."

At that moment two ecstatic puppies burst into the room. There was a blur of gray and brown tumbling over each other. Georgette jumped back in horror behind Oliver "Scamp get off me!" one of them said. "You get off me," came the reply. The ball of the two pups split leaving both of them panting on the floor staring each other down.

Two other brown puppies came through the door. "Scamp. Danielle. What are you doing." asked one.

"He started it" accused Danielle. "Did not" Scamp defended.

"Did to."

"Did not"

The other brown puppy spoke, "Guys quiet, look someone's watching us," she turned to Oliver and Georgette. "Sorry about my brother and sister, they have no manners. Hi I'm Annette, that's Collette and over there is Danielle and Scamp."

Georgette looked down at the puppy with a hint of admiration. "Well at least one of you has some manners." She stepped out from behind Oliver and re-composed herself. Lady's voice rang out from the corridor, "Children. Where are you? You're not causing any trouble are you?"

"There in hear" said Georgette. Lady poked her head around the door, followed by the rest of her body. Behind her was a tall scruffy grey crossbreed dog that, despite not being pure bred like herself, Georgette thought was quite handsome.

"Hello their I'm Lady, this is Tramp and I see you've already met the childr-" Lady was cut short by georgette pushing right pass her to get to Tramp, and getting a bit too close for Lady's comfort. "Yes lovely children" Georgette mumbled absentmindedly. "And you're Tramp? is that right?"

Tramp was a little flustered, "Y-ye-Yes." he stuttered. Lady just sighed. "You look very-" she paused to consider her next words, "-Rugged. Yes let's go with that."

"Um... Thanks?" Tramp responded. "Not nearly as perfect like myself of course. But not bad." Georgette leaned in closer to Tramp, which Lady thought impossible. "Hi. I'm Georgette. Perhaps you've heard of me. No? Well I'm the winner of 56 blue ribbons, fourteen regional trophies and six time national champion.

"It's nice to meet you" Tramp felt unsure of what to say, so he thought he'd try and avoid digging a hole for himself and just smiled at Georgette, which Lady was still annoyed about. "Leave him alone Georgette. You don't want to scare the kids," said Oliver. Georgette huffed and left the room, brushing up to Tramp, sliding her tail under his chin, causing him to fluster a little. "It was nice meeting you."

Lady had a fed up, unimpressed look spread across her face directed right at Tramp, who just tried to look as innocent as possible. "You'll have to excuse her; she gets a bit carried away some times. Hi I'm Oliver."

"It's very nice to meet you. I'm Lady. That one drooling over your friend there is Tramp and these are my four children, Danielle, Annette, Collette and Scamp." Oliver turned to the four pups. The three brown ones looked with awe over the cat but the grey one was confused and a little bit suspicious, he wasn't used to cats and didn't really like them.

"It's lovely to meet you all. Would u like a tour of the house?" asked Oliver.

"That would be lovely, thank you" Lady replied.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone, hear it is, chapter 3. I'll try and aim to release at least one new chapter a month. Hope You enjoy this and remember to leave a comment for improvement or praise (Preferably the latter).**

 **Oh and one more thing, I've snuck a Billy Joel song lyric in somewhere, comment if u find it.**

Chapter 3:- The storm of Grand Central Park

Oliver spent a little while showing them the Foxworth mansion then started to play with the puppies till it was time for dinner.

They all went downstairs and were greeted with the finest dog food New York had to offer, being served to them by Winston the butler in their boles from home that Jim and Darling bought with them. They chowed down in the kitchen while the humans ate in the dining room. Oliver was telling them the story about how he came to be part of the Foxworth family; including being abandoned as a kitten, taken in by a group of dogs, then by the Foxworth's and Jenny's rescue.

They all listened intently, hanging onto every word (apart from Georgette who wanted to forget the whole experience) and once Oliver had finished they all exploded with questions.

"How did you survive?"

"So what happened after that?"

"Where did the company go?"

"I don't know," said Oliver "That was about two years ago and I haven't seen any of them for at least a year and a half. I have wondered about that. All I hope is that I see them again, at least one more time. Even if it's just this one dog. I used to think we were like brothers, but he hasn't shown up. I think you'd like him Tramp. From what I hear you're a pretty good street dog yourself"

"Were" said Danielle.

"Yes thank you Danielle" Lady interrupted with a stern tone of voice. Danielle looked guilty and apologetically at her mother. Scamp and Collette yawned, prompting Tramp to say "Common everyone bedtime."

"Aw dad!" protested Annette, trying and failing to suppress another yawn "We're not tiered. Five more minutes. Please?" Tramp shook his head. "Come along children, we are going to Grand Central Park tomorrow and you're going to need all your energy to explore" said Lady. Reluctantly the trudged off to bed.

The next morning, once all the humans were up and about, the pups woke excitedly, except for Collette who was quiet in the corner.

" So are you ready for this tour of New York Jim?" Dave asked his brother. "Sure am," Jim replied "You said we could start off in Grand Central Park?" Dave nodded, "It should be nice for the kids and dogs. And we could just take it from there."

Winston poked his head out from the kitchen door "Sir I believe the weather report predicted a storm front approaching Manhattan. They say it should be here round about lunch time."

"Ah. Thank you Winston. Looks like we'll just have to make do with central park." All the dogs ran round the humans feet and barked in anticipation to get out the door while Collette was still in the corner. Tramp wondered over to her "What's up Collie?"

"I don't want to go" she whimpered. Tramp sighed "OK. Just try it out this one time for me. Please? And if you don't like it you can stay in next time. How about that?" Collette considered it for a moment then nodded. "Great. I'll be with you the entire time. I promise."

"Really?" Collette asked, looking up with admiration at her farther. "Really" he said. And with that the whole family set out to Grand Central Park (apart from Oliver).

Jim pushed Jim Jr along in a pram while Darling held the leads of the four puppies, Mr and Miss Foxworth either side of Jenny holding hands, with Miss Foxworth holing Georgette's lead and Mr Foxworth holding Lady's and tramps. It was a half an hour walk to grand central park from the mansion and once there the dogs were let off their leads to explore and run around freely, but Georgette was content staying by Miss Foxworth's side, posing and pouting to grab other dogs attention .

The pups played and investigated new sights and smells and sounds, all the while Colette staying close to her farther. But after a while Scamp convinced her to come and play with him. "I promises I will always have you in my sights" Tramp assured her.

So they went out into the open park and played. A little while later they ended up following Scamps nose. They weaved through bushes and flower beads till they reached the sauce of it; a big, fat, hairy man with a fag in his mouth was yelling "Get's your's hotdog's hear's! New Yawk's finest!"

Collette looked up at the sky and saw it was turning from calm blue to dangerous grey. "Common Scamp. Lets head back. We've come too far." Scamp turned to hear "OK OK. We'll head back." Collette thanked him. "Er... Scamp... What way is back?" She looked at the several different options trying to remember where they came from. "Um..." was all Scamp could manage to say before the sky lit up brightly, followed by an almighty rumble that deafened the two pups. Then rain drops started to drip onto them

"It was this way... Or was it this way... It could have been that way...?" Scamp stammered. Tears started to stream down his face, which couldn't have been noticed in the rain. His brain was racing but he was just frozen on the spot. Another thunder clap filled the world around them, sounding like the end of days as people hurried about to find shelter. And all Scamp could do was stand at that spot motionless.

Collette bumped Scamp to snap him out of his day dream. With the rain coming down hard now the two pups took off in on direction. They ran out of central park and into the sporadic streets of New York.

The pups weaved through the sea of legs in search of a shelter. Collette saw a van with its back doors wide open and some boxes inside. "Over there, common!" she yelled over the storm leading the way to the van. They jumped into the back of the van soaked through to their skin and panting. They shook their bodies to try and dry but to little success.

Suddenly they heard voices approaching the van. They dashed to the back of the van and hid behind some boxes. "Stupid weather. It was lovely before this," one of them said. "I know. Good thing this is the last box," said the other, before slamming the door shut leaving the puppies trapped in darkness, dripping wet.

They heard the engine start up and felt the van pulling away. Collette started to cry in the dark while scamp looked round the van. "It this best you could do?" he asked disappointed. "At least it's dry. And it's better than anything you suggested" she shot back in between sobs. Scamp felt really hurt by this and turned to sulk in the opposite corner of the van.

They both settled down in silence with their backs to each other. All they could do now was wait and see where they would end up.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here we are everyone. I'm sure you've been looking forward to this, so let me introduce the greatest street dog in New York...**

Chapter 4:- The Artful Dodger

33rd Avenue, Queens

After two thunderous hours the storm passed and the sun returned to the sky, lower than before. In the pulsing life of the streets, one dog swaggered along humming to himself. He weaved around the pedestrians almost effortlessly, almost rhythmically, like he had hooked into the beat no one could hear.

This dog was a mix of colours with a white body, a big brown spot on his back and brown on his head with light grey paws, muzzle with a red bandanna tied round his neck and, rather strangely, some black sunglasses . He strutted down 33rd avenue in queens. Walking past an alleyway he smelt something. "Chinese. I love Chinese." he thought to himself. He turned down the alleyway and followed his nose. This led him to the back of a Chinese restraint where a man sat outside smoking.

He quickly formulated a plan. He approached the man in a bouncy, playful state. "Bug of" the man said, shewing the dog away with his hands. The scruffy dog left, "OK then, how about a game of fetch then?" the dog thought to himself.

He approached the man again carrying a can in his mouth. He dropped it at the man's feat tilted his head, pleading with his eyes. The man sighed and picked up the ball, "OK boy go fetch." He threw the can and the dog ran after it.

After a couple of moments passed the dog returned with the can. He dropped it infront of his feat and started to paw and nuzzle into the man. The man made a fed up scoff. "Go away will ya. I played with ya, what more do ya wont?" The dog looked disappointed but wondered of. The sitting man took a long drag on his cigarette then got up and turned to the door. It was then he saw that scruffy dog again; but there was something different in his mouth this time. The man looked for a couple of seconds then felt his pocket. He noticed his cigarette pack was missing.

"Oh you thieving -" The dog took off in a run followed by the man. The dog came out the alley way and circled around the building with the man trying to keep up, his greasy apron fluttering behind him. When passing a flowerbed in someone's front garden the dog flung the pack into the flowers. The man dived after them.

Meanwhile the dog ran back into the alley, through the back door into an empty kitchen. He took a bag that contained a prepared takeaway and darted back out the kitchen before anyone knew he was there. He found a nice quiet alley a couple of streets down and settled into his dinner. Once he finished he climbed up the fire escape of some building and just relaxed, Humming to himself "Why should I worry? Why should I care?"

Time passed and the dog nodded off. He was suddenly awoken by crashing of rubbish bins being knocked over. He looked down and saw what the commotion was about. In the alleyway below him there were two puppies, one brown and the other grey. They were backed up against the wall by three other dogs.

There was a bulldog, a black lab mix and a mangy looking German shepherd surrounding them. Their lips were curled in a snarl and growls rumbled from the bottom of their thoughts. The lab mix was getting ready to jump the pups.

"Hey guys. What's happening?" came a voce with a casual tone. The three dog looked around and confused. The dog on the fire escape trotted down to the first level and slid down the banisters of the last set of stairs, captivating all the others sights.

The dog landed between the two pups and three attackers. The German shepherd broke into a sly smile while the other two growled. "Dodger? Is that you?" the shepherd asked. "Oh Max, It's you! I didn't recognise you from behind, better looking than you front." Dodger smirked, appearing un-phased by their aggressive nature.

Max replaced his smile with a growl. "I thought we told you to stay off our turf. This ain't Manhattan, you're no _"king of the streets"_ hear. So what you doing? Stealing our food!"

"Me? Steel? That hurts Max. Why would I want to steal from you? Just passing through, and I noticed you terrorising these two cute looking pups. I thought you were above that Max?" Dodger had mock disappointment in his voice.

"What goes on in my turf is my business Dodger" Max defended."I caught these puppies steeling my food so now I need to teach them a lesson in who runs the streets round here." Dodger gave max another smirk, "And what makes you think they need your education Maxy boy?"

"They steel my food, they gotta pay."

"I can understand that Max. But these are just kids. Pick on someone your own size." The three dog began closing around Dodger now. A disturbingly evil smile grew on the shepherd's muzzle "These pups aren't the only ones who need to be taught a lesson. What's say we educate the mighty Dodger first, ay boys?" The lab and bulldog started to laugh.

"Wow. Max. You don't wanna start something you can't finish hear" said Dodger with a calm demeanour. He shook his black sunglasses off his head and they landed on the floor.

"That's pretty brave coming from you mutt. But there's three of us an-" Dodger pounced without warning, cutting Max off mid-sentence. The bulldog and lab didn't know what to do and were motionless. Dodger first jumped onto the bulldog, scratching his body, causing the lab to snap out of his day dream and start fighting Dodger.

The fight was vicious between the dogs. Barking, biting, growling and scratching. But after a couple of minutes the lab jumped out of the brawl and limped off down the alley. Followed closely by the bulldog, leaving just Dodger and Max, who broke apart snarling and growling at each other. Both were covered in bruises and scratches, blood seeping into their fur; but it was clear that max was worse off.

"Well Maxy boy. Looks like you need more of an education than me, and unless you want it to continue back off," Growled Dodger. Max was panting in pain and embracement "This an't over Dodger. I will see you again." Max limped out the alleyway with his tail between his legs.

"Common Max. I don't wanna see that ugly mug you call a face. Let's just stay out of each other's way," Dodger quipped. He then turned round to the two puppies , hiding behind a box. "Common out you two. I won't eat ya, too much fur."

Scamp emerged first from the hiding place, "Wh- Who are you?" he asked coyly?" The dog smiled, amused. "Ya never heard of me kid? Names Dodger. The Artful Dodger," he said with pride, using his paw to flick up the sunglasses into the air only for them to land on his head, coving his eyes. Collette crept out behind her brother "You save our lives Mr Artful Dodger, thank you."

"Don't mention it kiddo. All in a day's work. Now what ya doing in a scummy ally in Queens? You don't look like street dogs." Scamp took offence at this, "What do u mean we can't be street dogs!"

"Wow, cool it scruff. I never said you couldn't be street dogs. You just don't look like it, that's all. On account of those human things round your necks. But you still haven't answered my question. What ya doing here?"

"We got lost sir," said Collette. "We were in a big park and it started raining and then we ran into the back of this truck and then we got shut in, and-and then dogs cha- chases us and then we- we ended up here." She started to cry.

"Hey kid. It's alright now" Dodger said, trying to comfort and her while her brother snuggled up to her. "I just want to go home!" she cried. Scamp whispered to her "we will sis. I don't know how, but we will. Maybe you could help us?" he looked up at Dodger with pleading eyes.

"Sorry kid, but I've got my own problems. I didn't mind helping out back there cos Max was being unfair, even by his standards. But I don't need any more burdens." Dodger turned and started to walk out the ally while Scamp and Collette shivered in the cold, Collette's crying echoing off the closed in walls. Dodger sighed and mumbled to himself under his breath "I'm such a sucker."

He spun round to face the pups, "OK. I'll help you. But you owe me big time." Collette practically bounced with excitement over to Dodger. "Thank you! Thank you so much Mr Dodger!"

"Ok. One thing. You've gotta stop calling me mister and sir. You can't go around New York calling the greatest street dog sir. Got that?" Collette nodded.

"Could you teach us how to be street dogs as well?" Scamp asked excitedly. Dodger thought for a couple of seconds, "I could give you some pointers." Scams eyes lit up. As they walked out the alleyway Dodger said to the pups, "Rule one about being a street dog. You need to live by this phrase. _Why should I worry_. Once you've learnt that you'll be on the way to running this town."

Collette looked confused "What do you mean _why should you worry?"_ she asked. Dodger laughed as they strolled down the street, "You've got a lot to learn kids."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:- Taking Action**

Foxworth's Mansion

"How could we lose them!" cried lady in distress and sorrow. They were back at the Foxworths mansion. "I don't know? I thought they were with us, but it was such a rush back from the park perhaps they slipped off without us knowing," Tramp asked himself disappointedly. "OK. Let's go through this again" said Oliver, "Where was the last place you saw them?"

"In the park right before the storm," recalled Tramp. "We noticed they were missing after we left the park and the thunder storm was on top of us."

"They must have hidden somewhere to get out of the rain. Collette doesn't like the rain," said lady. In the other room Mr Foxworth was just getting off the phone. He turned to the rest of the family "Right. I've spoken to my friend in the pound and she said they haven't received Scamp or Collette. But she will tell her staff to look out for them and she'll phone us if they come in."

"We have to go look for them," said Jim. "Yes we do" agreed Darling, cradling a crying Jim Jr in her arms. "We can start at Central Park and ask around. Someone must have seen them," Miss Foxworth stated. "We can bring the dogs along as well. Maybe they can pick up their cent?"

Tramp and Lady barked in agreement and Oliver stepped up next to them to show he wanted to help. "Can I come Mummy? I want to help find my brother and sister" asked Danielle. "I'm afraid not dear. We don't want to lose you as well. Stay here with Annette and Georgette," Lady replayed. Danielle's head drooped in disappointment but she reluctantly agreed.

So they set out into New York and split up into two groups, Jim and Darling with Lady and Oliver, Mr and Miss Foxworth with Tramp. They started in Central Park and went from there; asking people if they have seen the puppies but no one could tell them anything useful.

They carried on for searching for the rest of the afternoon, Tramp and the Foxworths arrived back at the mansion just after nightfall. Only Winston and Georgette were still up. Penny was upstairs and Danielle and Annette was sleeping next to Georgette. Tramp came to sit by his daughter, "Lady isn't back yet?" he asked Georgette, who silently shook her head with a sombre face.

Georgette moved allowing Tramp to snuggle up to his daughters. Five minutes later the Door clicked open and Tramp looked at it with hop, Lady, Oliver and the Darlings shuffled in. No one else. Lady ran to Tramp and the still sleeping Danielle and Annette with tears in her eyes. They shared an embrace, Lady burring her head in Tramps scruffy fur. "Oh Tramp. Where are they?"

"I don't know pidg, I don't know. But I'll go out again tonight on my own. I'll cover more ground that way."

"But you don't know anything about New York. You will be just as lost as them." Lady protested. "I'll help" came a small voice, they all turned, it was Oliver. "I don't know the streets as well as others but I know my way round the main streets. It's better than nothing."

"Thank you Oliver. Any way you can help would be brilliant." He turned to Lady with a comforting smile. "Oh Tramp. Do you have to do this? Surely there is another way?" Lady pleaded. "But this could be our best chance, and I know how to look after myself on the streets, remember."

"I still don't like the idea but it could be our best chance" Lady accepted. Tramp kissed Lady and thanked her. "Ok. It's settled. When our pets go to sleep tonight we'll go."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:-Sweet dreams**

The night was closing in above Queens and the temperature was dropping fast. The puppies were shivering and chattering their teeth.

"I'm cold and hungry" moaned Collette, " and tired" Scamp chimed in. Dodger smirked at them "Well if ya wanna become street dogs you've gotta get used to those feelings cos they never go away."

"Isn't there an easier way to become a street dog?" complained Scamp. "Nope." Dodger replied simply. "Ok. I'll give ya a bit of sympathy just this once. I've got a place we can crash for the night, It's coming up right... now."

He stopped outside an abandoned building site right next to the river dividing Queens from Manhattan. The building site had been abandoned about a month ago. It was surrounded by a shoddy chain link fence with tarps in the inside to stop people from seeing in. Dodger squeezed through a hole in the corner of one of the fences. "Common kids, you're gonna love this" he said from the other side.

Cautiously, Scamp and Collette clambered through the hole. Once through the hole they saw half of a completed building about 25 stories high. The structure looked daunting, and high than anything the pup have ever seen growing up in a quiet suburban town.

Dodger climbed up the half finished stairs and scaffolding all the way to the tenth floor. The pups struggled to keep up and by the time they reached the top they gulped in air and collapsed on top of each over in exhaustion. Dodger laughed at them "Don't worry. It'll be worth it. Trust me."

Dodger disappeared behind a tarp gently fluttering in the evening wind. With a huge amount of effort on their part, Scamp and Collette got up and followed him. When they saw what was on the other side of the tarp they froze in pure amassment.

The iconic New York Skyline drew their view in a kind dominance, demanding them to see its beauty. All Scamp and Collette could do was stair at all the lights twinkling in the descending dark, the bridges and skyscrapers that appear to be floating, disappearing behind one another all the way into the distance of the dark blue sky. The shear magnitude of it all made them forget for one moment about their hunger and cold and pain, of all the trauma of the day, simply by taking in the view.

"I know," smiled Dodger "that was my reaction too first time I laid eyes on this city." Collette was lost for words, and all Scamp could come out with was "Wow" muttered under his breath. "Best view in the world kids, no comparin' it to anything else. Not that I've seen anyway. Ya see it may not feel like it to you, but this city has a beat to it. Every car horn, cement mixer, angry person. It's like they all weave together into a rhythm."

"And you can feel it?" Scamp asked in awe. "Sure can kido," Dodger grinned back, "That's lesson two. Tap into the rhythm of the city, cos once you get it down, you can run this town. Common, I got some food stashed back here."

Dodger led the pups though a hole in the wall meant for a door (but didn't have one) into an enclosed room. The room had four bare, concrete walls with no holes for windows, creating a dark, boxed in room. Tucked away in one corner of the room there was a small pile of food, consisting of half eaten hamburgers and sandwiches with most of the filling missing.

"Dig in guys." The pups didn't need to be told twice, with Scamp practically diving in head first into the small pile of borderline edible food. Collette, who would usually turn her nose up at this gutter food, only hesitated for a split second before scoffing down as much as she could.

After a couple of minutes of continued food massacring, the pups were just about satisfied but not full up. "Got any more?" Scamp turned toward Dodger with a hopeful glint in his eye. Dodger shook his head. "Oh… But I'm still hungry" Colette pouted. "Get used to it," Dodger chuckled "Out on the streets ya won't have a full stomach most of the time."

Collette huffed as scamp spoke up "So what do we do know?"

"Well I don't know about you, but I'm gonna try and get some sleep," Dodger said as he flopped to the floor with his back to the pups, looking out at the city he once knew so well below a blanket of dark blue and twinkling stars.

The pups thought this was a good idea as well and walked into the closed off room and soon fell into an exhausted sleep almost immediately.

Collette was a light sleeper and half way through the night was woken up by a faint scuffing sound complemented by incoherent mumbling. Getting up to investigate, she crept silently out of the room. She saw Dodger's silhouette in the moonlight shaking and flinching. She approached closer to him and saw his paws and eyelids twitch rapidly; his breathing fast and short like he was panicking. His lips curled up, showing off his sharp teeth. Collette realised he was having a nightmare.

"Dodger?" She whispered gently. Dodgers curled body bolted upright in a second, like a striking cobra. He looked panicked, his breathing rigged and tongue panting quickly. His eyes showed fear, which was quickly replaced by annoyance after seeing Collette. "What's the deal kid? tryin' to give me a heart attack?"

"No - no - not at all... I was - was just checking if you were ok... I thought you were having a nightmare," Collette stammered, felling a little bit more scared of Dodger after seeing his aggressive side. Dodger huffed then Collette continued "... What were you dreaming about?"

"Mind ya own business kid." Dodger walked to the edge of the building, Collette was afraid that he was going to fall off. He sat and stared down twenty floors down to the dirt. Collette slowly walked towards him and sat down next to him. They sat in silenced for a while before Collette decided she couldn't take it anymore "I'm sorry if I upset you," she sniffed.

"There's no reason to apologise kid, I over reacted," Dodger replied apologetically before continuing "You were right. I was having a nightmare." Collette's interest peaked at this, "About what?" Dodger didn't reply strait away, but left the question hang in the air as he lifted his head up to stare out at the city he loved. Finally he mumbled "The day everything changed."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:- The day everything changed

 _One year & six months ago_

Dodger was strutting down Broadway in his usual self confidant style, coming back from a visit from Oliver's. Dodger laughed to himself as he thought about how one of his best friends was a cat, who would have thought it? Defiantly not him.

Suddenly a delightful smell filled Dodgers nostrils, permeating the air, and like a cartoon character in the old cartoons, followed the sent all the way to the source. Turning a corner he laid eyes on it, a hot dog vendor serving all American franks hot dogs, Dodgers favourite kind. His mouth started to water.

Creeping up behind the vendor (a gruff looking man with a baled patch in the top of his hair that he was trying to hide with a bad comb over) and waited for the right time to strike. Finally when he was busy dealing with a customer Dodger nimbly and swiftly weaved around his legs and grabbed the end of a role of hot dogs, then high tailed it out of there with a line of about ten hotdogs; All before the vendor knew what hit him.

Feeling especially proud of himself and with his ego boosted a bit more, he made tracks toward home. Approaching the dingy dock where Fagin's houseboat resided (Barley afloat) Dodger smelt something unusual in the air, fire?

He turned a corner and saw a black, ugly cloud of unending smoke rising up into the air like a plastic bag in the wind, creating a dirty streak across the orangey yellow of the setting sun. Dodger started running toward the smoke, following it like an evil rainbow. Dodger dropped the hotdogs from around his neck, mind racing as he feared the worst. When he came to the entrance of the dock he stopped at the top of some stairs looking on as his fears were confirmed.

At the end of the dock was Fagin's decrepit houseboat engulfed in flames, slowly being eaten away in the hungry clutches of the fire. Dodger was ready to take action, but before he could rush to the boat he felt something smash into him from behind, causing him to fly down the stairs and land with a hard thud on the floor. His head was spinning and before he could get up a he was pinned to the floor.

As his blurred vision slowly cleared he started to take in the fuzzy outline of the dog pinning him down. It was a Doberman, twice the size of Dodger. It had cropped ears, a vicious snarl and a hatred burning clearly in its eyes. Dodger couldn't help but be reminded of someone when looking at this face, but he could pinpoint who.

"Get off me! I need to help my friends!" Dodger shouted at the Doberman as he struggled to break out of her grip. "So you're the famous Dodger then, hu?" she spat out Dodger's name "What a disappointment." Dodger stopped struggling to look her clear in the eyes, with a voice in the back of his head trying to find out why she looked so familiar.

As if reading his mind the Doberman spoke, "Common mutt. Look hard-" she pushed her face right up against Dodger's which he found quite intimidating "-I must remind you of someone? Anyone? You should know, you killed them!" the volume of her voice escalated through the sentence.

Finally the puzzle pieces clicked into place in Dodger mind, and a wave of poisonous memories flooded into his mind; The smell of raw meat on their breath, all the despicable hitting on Rita, the subway chase that almost cost him his life. "You- You look like- like Roscoe and- and Desoto". Dodger was stuttering due to the PTSD from all the memory's he suppressed, clearly shaken by revisiting them.

Dodger visible stress caused the Doberman to smile a crooked evil smile, "That's right Mutt. They were my brothers, the only good thing in my miserable life, and you took them away from me." She pressed he paw down on Dodgers throat, enjoying the sound of his choking and squirming, before releasing the pressure, allowing Dodger to gulp down air now that he could.

After some more coughing Dodger said between laboured breathes "OK. Revenge on me. I get that. But why are you burning my house down?" The Doberman released a scary witch crackle of a laugh that sent a shiver down Dodgers spine. "Tut tut tut. Not everything's about you Mutt. My owners needed to get back at your dear old Fagin. We can't let some tramp with his pack of flea bitten mutts kill a mob boss and not do anything about it. All actions have repercussions, and this is Fagin's."

Dodger eyes widened with panic, "But what about my friends?" The Dobermans smile grew even bigger, "We trapped those other mongrels you call friends in the boat while Fagin was taken outside to watch. But I'm glad you weren't in there, it means I can kill you myself."

Dodger was paralysed while the news sunk in, he momentarily slipped out of this world. His mind tried to reject the idea that his friends, his world, was burning into nothing. However this sudden realisation gave him a surge of adrenalin. He came back with a fierce vengeance. While the Doberman was laughing Dodger scratched her face,claws hitting her just below the right eye.

Momentarily stunned by this attack Dodger took the advantage and sunk his teeth into her left paw. She bought it up in pain un-stabling herself, allowing Dodger to get his two back legs and ram them into her lower thighs, causing the Doberman to scream out as she was catapulted of Dodger and landed in a heap on the floor.

Maybe on a normal day the Doberman would have had a chance, but with an angered Dodger there was none; she wasn't trained as well as her brothers, and it showed. The Doberman was covered in blood, she couldn't stand on her left paw and had no energy to fight. Panting in pain she stared Dodger right in the eye with anger and hatred "Go on then. Do it. Kill me like you killed my brothers."

Dodger stood over her, breathing heavily with rage. The light from the flames behind him casting a silhouette across the floor and over the Doberman. The held eye contact for another couple of seconds, then Dodger backed away and turned to help his friends. With his back to her he said in a dark tone, "Don't follow me". Then he ran in the direction of the flaming house boat hoping he wasn't too late.

When he got there, Dodger heard tires screeching as a black limo drove off into the distance. Obviously the mobsters as there was currently no one by the boat. Then Dodger saw it. The crumpled and burning ashes of what was once his home but now just a pile of floating, burning wood. His entire life reduced to nothing-ness, disappearing in among the dancing flames.

Dodger knew that nothing could survive that. If his friends were in there like the Doberman said they'd be dead by now. Dodger tried to fight the waves of so many different emotions flooding him. Taking one more look around with wet eyes he started to run in the opposite direction to the burning boat. Up the rams, into the city. Dodger didn't have a destination, he just wanted to run. Run as far away as possible. To try and convince himself that none of this was actually happening.

It started to lightly rain as he heard the wailing sirens of the fire department in the distance, but that didn't matter. They were already too late. Dodger just kept running, small drops of water dripping off his fur. It was hard to tell if that was the rain or Dodger. He turned into a small dead end ally as the rain started to come down faster and harder. At the closed end of the ally there were three dustbins knocked down in a pile. Dodger managed to squeeze himself into an open space between them, offering some (but not a lot) of shelter. He curled up into a ball, fur soaking wet, and he cried. For the first time since he was a pup he cried. Dodger couldn't hold it any longer. He was alone, lost, scared. And in that dark, cold ally, he cried himself to sleep.

 _Present day_

Collette sat in silence, looking at Dodger with mouth dropped open in shock. Dodger stared into the distance trying to hid his emotions like he always does, and for the most part it worked, but Collette could have sworn she saw his eyes watering up, although she didn't say anything.

After an uncomfortably long time silent, Collette spoke up in a rather meek voice, "So what did you do next?"

"I did something I never thought I'd do. I left Manhattan. That place just didn't feel like home anymore, not after that. I wondered around, went down to Brooklyn for a while. Then the Bronx, didn't stay there long. Then I ended up in Queens. And it's taken me so long but... but I just need to keep trying to get past what happened. There's no good getting upset about the past."

"Have you ever thought about going back?" Asked Collette. "Yeah. I have. But I could never go back there. I don't want to. I can't explain why." Collette looked him in the eye, "So you're scared right? I know what that's like, I'm scared all the time."

"You're doing a pretty good job of hiding it," Dodger remarked slightly impressed. Collette considered this for a second, "Yeah. I suppose I am, aren't I. It just came out of know where, you know, this courage. Right when we got lost in grand central park. Scamp froze and I just took over, like instincts." Dodger sighed heavily, "Well if you can do it then so can I." And with that they both sat watching the sun rise slowly over Manhattan.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:- A New Friend

Early morning Manhattan. the crowds hustling, the traffic roaring, the hot dogs sizzling. Tramp and Oliver had been out all night searching for Scamp and Collette, to no luck. Throughout the night they worked as a team, Oliver guiding him around the limited areas that he knew and Tramp stopping to ask passing dogs (and cats) if they have seen his children. There were a couple of touch and go moments where Tramp had to protect Oliver from a couple of hungry and slightly untrustworthy dogs, but nothing that involved fighting, much to Tramps relief.

While walking down a typical street, earning some curious looks from passers buy, Oliver turned to Tramp "So Annette tells me you used to be a street dog. Suppose this feels like second nature to you?" Tramp shrugged his shoulders "Sort of. This is a very different environment to what I'm used to. Plus I haven't been a street dog for a couple of years now, I've turned into a family dog. I wish I was more like your Friend at the moment."

"No you don't," Oliver said. "Why not?" Tramp questioned, "If he was hear then we would have probably found my kids by now." Oliver shook his head, "You don't want to be like him. He was practically my big brother and I love him, but I also feel sorry for him."

"Why?"

"Because he didn't allow anyone to love him back. Family is the best thing to happens to anyone. And he will never experience that. When we still saw each other we'd walk around steeling, laughing and sing that song of his all day and it was great. But when I would go home to Jenny and the Foxworth's, he would go back to his boat and be alone. Sure he had that smelly man and those other dogs he lived with, and they were defiantly close friends. But his problem was he never let anyone see who he truly was. He'd hide behind his false image of not caring to hide his loneliness, and if he didn't change that then he would be forever alone."

They carried on walking while Tramp thought over what Oliver just said. His thoughts were broken when Oliver yawned widely. "You OK Oliver?" Tramp asked. "Hu?- Oh, fine thanks," he rubbed his eyes with his paws. Tramp saw through his obvious lie. "Oliver, head back to the house. You've done enough work. And you've helped me out a lot. Really"

"Are you sure Tramp? I can stay a little longer?"

"No, no. They need an update back home anyway. You could tell them what we've done so far." Oliver nodded, thanked him and made his way back to the Foxworth mansion. Tramp carried on walking for a little bit and came to an ally way. He heard the sound of rubbish bins being knocked over. He ventured into the dark, smelly gap between two buildings.

He saw the back half of a dog sticking out of the bin. The dog had a light brown body with dark brown paws and tail wagging in the air. "Um- Hello-Hi. I was wondering if you could help me please?"

"Hold on a second hun" came a muffled reply from inside. After more clanging and banging the front half of the dog emerged. She had bright brown eyes, A long light brown muzzle and furry dark brown ears and on the top of her head. She looked at Tramp with half a chicken carcass in her mouth, protecting it from the possible thief. She was suspicious but not aggressive, which Tramp took as a good sign. "What can I help ya with handsome?" She flicked her eyelashes in a slightly flirtatious way.

"Im looking for my children. Have you seen them? There's two of them, both about one year old. One is a brown spaniel and the other looks like me." The dog pondered for a second, eating the chicken slowly, enjoying the taste while looking over Tramp as she did so. "Can't say I've seen them. Sorry. How long have they been missing?"

"About a day. I lost them in Grand Central park." The brown dog thought again. "Central park. One day. They could be the other side of the city by now." Tramp nodded, "That's what I'm worried about?"

"Well if there anywhere in Manhattan, we'll find them," declared the brown dog. "We?" Tramp asked. "Yeah we. You and me. I'll give you a paw, I know this city better than any living dog. And I know the right people to ask. First we should start at Central park if that's the last place you saw them." She started walking out the ally way but stopped and turned when Tramp didnt follow her. Instead he looked at her in suspicion. "What are you waiting for?"

"Why are you helping me. I don't even know your name." Again the dog pondered this, thinking carefully. "Call it maternal instinct. Besides, it's not like I've got anything better to do." She looked Tramp square in the eye, giving him a cheeky smile, "and my name's Rita."

Tramp walked up and stood next to her, "I'm Tramp, Thank you."

"Thank me when your children are found."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:- Brooklyn Bridge Battle

It was round about mid day when Dodge, Scamp and Collette approached the Brooklyn Bridge. The magnificent architecture of the bridge, with all the steel welded together and the taunt wires supporting this monstrous contraption, was more alien than anything the two pups have seen in there short, sheltered life. The way it towered over all of them, consuming them in its shadow made Scamp and Collette a little bit nervous, causing them to hesitate slightly as Dodger confidently swaggered on. The kept up with Dodger and just as they got to the start of the bridge they all stopped.

"Ok, here we are Kids. Over that bridge and then were one step closer to getting ya home," Dodger beamed at the kids. They looked at the bridge, with all the cars bombing past them. "How long is it going to take?" asked Scamp. "Well if you two could car surf then not very long. But I highly doubt that you could, so we're going to have to cross on paw." Scamp groaned at the thought of this and asked for a quick break before they start. So they sat down in a shadow of a wall by the bridge for about five minutes.

The pups talked amongst themselves while Dodger just tried to relax for a little bit and mentally prepare himself for the journey back into the place where he never thought he would go again. Dodger took in his surroundings. There were the usual pedestrians and tourist milling about and taking photos, a food vendor selling greasy food while seagulls souring around in the air above (Dodger swore that he once saw two mice riding on the back of one once). All pretty normal, that was when he noticed two dogs on the other side of the road, looking at Dodger while pretending to not look and whispering to each other. The two dogs split up into different directions and Dodger made a mental note to keep his guard up.

"Right common kids, that's long enough. If we start now we can make it by tea time." And with that they started their trek across the bridge, keeping to a steady but relaxed pace. After about an hour they were approaching the half way part of the bridge. Although it was mid day the bridge was a bit more deserted of pedestrians than usual; but the three dogs still had to weave in, out and around legs in their walk. At this point Dodger noticed Scamp lagging behind a bit, head down and quiet. Collette didn't notice and just hummed to herself in her own little world, but Dodger slowed his pace to let Scamp catch up. When they were level with each other Dodger asked, "You doing alright kiddo?"

Scamp sighed and looked up at Dodger, "Dodger. Do you think I'm brave?"

"I don't really know ya well enough to say kid. Why?"

"I've always thought I could handle myself in any situation, like instinctively know what to do. But yesterday, during the storm... I just froze. On the spot. I couldn't think of anything. I was completely useless." Scamp huffed and looked at the ground in defeat.

"Common kiddo. You can't be like that. Yeah, you may have chocked out on your first run, but now way ya give up," chimed Dodger. Scamp tilted his head in confutation. "What do you mean?"

"Know body can get everything right first time, except for yours truly," Dodger not so humbly indicated to himself, "The way ya learn is through your mistakes, and believe me, I've made a few. As long as you build on that experience, you'll be able to run this town one day."

"But I was scared, and I didn't do anything. If I was half as good as my dad we wouldn't be in this mess. He'd be so disappointed in me." Dodger looked shocked "Why would ya think your dad would be disappointed in ya? You don't need his opinion to make ya happy. What's your dad ever done anyway?"

"He used to be a street dog, the greatest street dog ever," Scamp said in a sort of awe and amassment, as Dodger made a unimpressed scoffing sound and muttered under his breath "Mustn't have heard of me." Scamp continued "I've always wanted to be like him, but he would never teach me, so I feel like I should impress him, prove to him that I'm capable. That I can live up to him."

"Ya can't spend your life tryin' to please other people, that's the whole philosophy of why should I worry. And besides that, any decent dad wouldn't be disappointed in their son for being afraid. And I bet your dad is a whole lot better than mine."

"So what do I do now?" Asked Scamp. Dodger smiled at him, "You're gonna learn how ta be a street dog, and ya being taught by the best. And when ya see ya dad, he will be glad ta see ya and it won't matter what happened." Scamp seamed to brighten up at this, "You really think so?"

"Apsativaly posolutly!" exclaimed Dodger in excitement, causing a smile to light up Scamps face. The trio carried on walking and were almost three quarters of the way across the bridge when Dodger noticed something odd in the distance. There was a silhouette of a dog in the distance, just standing still as a statue, causing people to walk around it; "good thing the bridge wasn't that busy," Dodger thought. Then Dodger recognised this shape and when the pieces finally clicked in his brain he stopped dead in his tracks. Collette and Scamp stopped and turned round to face Dodger, "Is everything alright Dodger?" asked Collette.

Dodger didn't respond and just stared blankly as the other dog started moving closer now, with two dogs behind it melting out from the crowd into view. A shiver went down Dodger's spine and his hackles raised as the dogs approached. "Kids, get behind me," he demanded in a level tone, scaring the pups a bit. "What's going on Dodger?" asked Scamp shyly. Dodger's voice got more commanding, "Behind me. Now."

The two pups did as they were told, crowding behind Dodger. The three intimidating dogs approached closer and then stopped about five meters in front of Dodger. It was clear to see the dog in the middle was in charge. It was a Doberman with black covering her body except under the chest and end of her legs and paws, that were dark brown. She had a scar going horizontally under her right eye. She stood at least three times bigger than Dodger and the most scariest dog the pups have ever seen, causing them to sink even further behind Dodger and squish into each other. The other two dogs were not as scary but by no means comforting, one was a dirty gray pit ball with a mean looking scar down its left side. The other was another male Doberman, though not as big as the leader.

"Who are they Dodger?" whispered Collette from behind him. "It's the Doberman that burnt down the house boat," replied Dodger, his voice like gravel. Finally the lead Doberman spoke, "Hello Dodger," she spat out his name like a bad bit of fish, "so nice to see you again." Scamp and Collette were so close to Dodger that they felt him twitch when she spoke, but Dodger held the image of tough and unaffected by her. "I didn't catch your name last time, I've been referring to you as something I shouldn't repeat in front of the kids."

The Doberman chuckled to herself, a cold and cruel chuckle. "Oh you charmer. I'm Roxsett," she smiled at him. With effort to try and keep his voice level Dodger said "What ya doing here?" It was more of a demand than a question. "I've got contacts all over New York keeping an eye out for you, mutt. You've managed to fly under the radar for a while but I knew you would pop up sooner or later. Once someone saw you, the word came back to me almost instantly. Luck for you I wasn't far away." Dodger's mind paned back the two dogs he saw conversing when they started their journey across the bridge.

"I thought you said this wasn't personal. With all the trouble you've gone through it feels pretty personal." Roxsett's cruel smile twisted into a sadistic scowl, "That was then, this is now. I don't like to leave loose ends, but I have some emotional attachment in this agenda. I can't just let some scruff bag, flee bitten mutt take my brothers and have him live. But that's enough talk." She started to stalk forward slowly, a deep growling bubbling from the back of her throat. Hackles raised and head hunched down close to the ground, piercing orange eyes unblinkingly staring them down. The two other dogs behind her followed her lead.

Dodger whispered to the pups behind him, "When I say run. Run. It's me they're after, not you two. I'll see you at the end of the bridge." The pups looked panicked, "Dodger no. We're not leaving you, we want to help," Scamp piped up. "If ya hang around kid ya gonna cause more problems than ya solve. Ya wanna help. Run." Scamp and Collette meekly nodded.

The three mafia dog's drew closer now, maybe only two feet away from them. Some humans gave curious or worried glances but no one stopped, they just gave a wide birth to the dogs. Typical New Yorkers, wouldn't let anything get in the way of their daily lives. "Get ready," Dodger mumbled to the kids. Suddenly, he sprinted the short distance between them and tackled into the side of Roxsett, who was caught off guard and didn't expect Dodger to make the first move, and she crashed to the floor. The other Doberman and pit ball stood shocked for a second before both jumping into the skirmish.

"RUN!" Dodger yelled to the pups, and they did. They ran as fast as they could, past the huddle of savage dogs and into the crowd of New Yorkers, who now took notice of the fight; but none of them wanted to do anything about it. To them the fight looked vicious. Dodger managed to shake off the other two dogs who jumped him and face both of them at the same time, while Roxsett got back to her paws. Dodger was a good fighter, thanks to the tough streets of New York growing up, and with a one on one could handle himself easy. But he could see he was going to be over powered by sheer numbers. The dogs scuffled, scratches and bite marks passed around, damage to all parties. There was too much going on to tell what was happening for sure, but eventually the scrum broke apart.

The Pit ball slammed into Dodgers right side while the Doberman clawed at his left, creating a big gash along his leg that instantly started bleeding and caused Dodger to stumble to the floor, with the Doberman on top. Dodger managed to reach the Dobermans neck and bite into it, taking a chunk of skin with him. The dog rolled of Dodger in pain, although it was just a flesh wound. He got unsteadily onto his feat, pain shooting through his entire body and faced the Pit ball charging towards him, teeth showing in a snarl. Dodger waited till the last second, then rolled aside just before the Pit ball could make contact. With his back leg Dodger tripped up the Pit bull, causing him to tumble over himself and role to the ground. Then Dodger jumped onto the Pit bull and pulled back his lips in a deadly snarl, a sound like a rumbaing volcano coming from his throat.

Before he could do anything a great force rammed him in the side, making Dodger fly into the air, only to come crashing back to the concrete, sliding a short distance along the floor and stopping just before the road. Dodger's entire body ached and his head was spinning and he had blurred vision. He closed his eyes to try and stop that. Roxsett towered over his crumpled body, her big stature engulfing Dodger in her shadow. Dodger's breaths were heavy and laboured. "So. The _Artful Dodger_ , greatest street dog in the world reduced to this." Roxsett mused to herself. "I want you to look at me," she spoke to Dodger, who still had his eyes closed. "LOOK AT ME!" She dug her claws into his right side, causing Dodger to scream out in pain and open his eyes. He stared right into Roxsett's with a sense of doom in his eyes.

"Yes," Roxsett smiled, "This is exactly the look I wanted from you. I want you to realise that you're about to die at my paws. Slowly, in agonising pain." She moved her face right up to Dodger's till they almost touched noses, "And I want you to know this is your doing," her voice becoming louder and louder, "When you killed my brothers!" She through her head up and let out a high pitched cackle sounding almost like a witch. She abruptly stopped and looked down at Dodger, drool coming out of her mouth and dripping onto him, "Any last words _mutt_?" she spat.

Dodger mumbled something incoherent, a week sound emitting from him. Roxsett moved closer towards him, tilting her head so he could speak into her ear. This time she heard what Dodger said, "Sucker." With new unexpected energy Dodger targeted Roxsett's neck and tried to bite it. Unfortunately, her reactions were quick; moving her body to the side and Dodger sinking his teeth into her right shoulder. Roxsett cried out, staggering backwards trying to escape Dodger's grip, but it was too strong.

Finally Dodger let go and limped as fast as he could towards the road. Using all his remaining strength he managed to jump onto a slow moving car roof. It cruised along with Dodger looking behind him at the three humiliated Mob dogs and the surrounding pedestrians, and smiled to himself at his impressive possum playing. He hunkered down, trying to find grip on the roof and using all of his diminishing strength to stay on there, for the rest of his short journey to rondevu with the pups, painting heavily and in pain but still alive.

Scamp and Collette ran the reaming distance of the bridge as fast as they could, neither of them dared to look back. They were both exhausted, their legs and paws aching and they were panting heavily. They scrabbled into some shrubbery on a grassy area next to the pavement, then they collapsed to the floor, just laying on their side with their chests moving up and down rapidly. After a few of minuet gulping down air, Collette asked through pants "Do you think they got Dodger?"

"Don't know?" was all Scamp could manage to say. "But I don't think so. Dodger's too smart for those dogs." This did little to calm Collette. "What if he was over powered? I mean, there were more dogs there than for a fair fight. What if he's dead?"

"Don't bet on it," came a crocked voice from behind the shrubbery, making the pups jump. The bushes rustled then parted as Dodger crashed his way through them and then into the small opening the pups were in. He looked bad. He was limping on three paws and had cuts all over his body. Blood seeped into his dirty white and grey fur and matted it into a tangle. "Dodger!" The pups yelled in excitement, finding new energy in his sight, jumped up and began to hug him, causing dodger to wince in pain. "Ow Ow Ow! Watch it kids. You'll ruin my good looks." The pups backed away and apologised. Then decided to take a look at his wounds.

There was a deep cut on his right flank, scratches and bite marks all over his body and legs. There was a little blood coming from his left ear and even a small chunk missing from his tale. As well as a scratch on the left of his muzzle and maybe even a couple of cracked ribs. All of this didn't give the pups much hope.

"How does it look?" Dodger asked, legs starting to shake from supporting his own body weight. Both the pups were reluctant to answer. "Um... It doesn't look too bad," Scamp lied unconvincingly. "Well it feels worse than that." Dodger tried to laugh it off but ended up coughing violently. "You need help. Isn't there anyone?" Collette asked desperately. Dodger closed his eyes and tried to think. "Uh... OK, OK, I've got somewhere in mind. I don't want to go there but I ain't got any other option," he sighed before coughing again and turned to the pups, "I know a dog who would be able to help. She lives about 6 blocks from here. That's where we need to go."

Dodger took a couple of limps forward (not putting pressure on his right paw) before letting out a yelp of pain. "Can you make it?" Scamp asked. "Ain't got much of a choice. But I need you to help me." Collette and Scamp each went one side of Dodger to balance him out. They took the majority of his weight between them. Dodger's head began to spin and a painful drumming sound started to echo inside his mind as they headed off slowly and unsteadily towards their new destination.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:- Tramp and Co.

Tramp, with the new found help from Rita, covered lots of ground but with no luck. They had walked all the way from 28th Street, Broadway up to central park; on the way Rita would stop random dogs and ask if they knew anything.  
The day had been long and exhausting for both of them, but it showed on Tramp worse. While walking along he stumbled up a curve and only just got his footing. Rita turned round, "You OK hun?" she asked with concern. Tramp yawned as he spoke, "Hu? Yeah, I'm just a little tired." His eyelids were fighting closure and he looked week. Rita shook her head in pity. "You need to rest."  
"No. Not until my children are safe," Tramp said determinedly, while trying to suppress another yawn. "You're no good to them exhausted and tired. When was the last time you got some sleep?" Tramp didn't answer her, but knew it was about two days ago. "Common, I got a place you can crash," Rita persisted. Begrudgingly, Tramp followed her lead, knowing she was right.  
Rita lead him through streets and back alleys to a small, abandoned restraint situated under a busy overpass right on the edge of Hell's kitchen. The exterior of the building was that of a run downed structure. All its windows were boarded up, the walls on the outside were stained different colours and had symbols of graffiti, with patches of decaying brick showing through the plastering. The building looked like it would collapse under a half decent breeze.  
Rita lead the way into the derelict diner through a hole in the crumbling wall. The inside looked worse than the out, which Tramp thought impossible. Tables and chairs with holes in them and legs missing littered the entire place. The floor was caked in mud and dirt, cracked tiles and fur from shedding dogs. There were booths as well, with claw marks in the padding and fluff poking out. Light seeped through the cracks of the boarded up windows, creating a dim atmosphere.  
To Tramp the place looked deserted, as he'd expect; but then Rita addressed the empty diner, "It's ok guys, he's with me. You can stop playing hide and seek." Tramp heard movement all around him and mumbling voices. The first face he saw was that of a Husky-Alsatian cross with bright blue eyes and dirty white fur, which Tramp assumed would look allot nicer after a good wash. The Husky smiled at both of them, "Bring home a new friend Rita?"  
"Quite the scruffy fellow isn't he," remarked a fat British bulldog with a strange Shakespearian accent. "Ey, You looked in the mirror recently man? You ain't no Moaning Lisa Frankie!" teased a little Chihuahua hopping around the bulldogs feet. "God, could you get any more annoying Tito," sighed a brown and white collie dog. All the dogs started talking and bickering over each over giving Tramp a head ache. He decided they looked like a right Motley crue. Finally, Rita stepped in. "Alright, shut it everyone!" she yelled, causing the entire room to fall silent and stare at Rita with looks of guilt on their faces.  
"Guys, this is Tramp. I've told him he could crash here for as long as he likes. He needs to catch up on some sleep. Francis could you lead him to a bed please?" she asked the bulldog. "Of course Rita. Come, follow me poor fellow." Tramp turned to Rita "But what about my kids? They're still out there." Rita gave a comforting nod to Tramp," Don't worry. I'll keep on looking for them, I'll get these guys to help. You just get some rest."  
Tramp fell silent, nodded thanks to Rita and slowly turned to follow Francis. The bulldog lead the way to the cleanest booth he could find, right in the corner of the diner. This one was still in pretty good condition, just dusty and normal wear and tear. "There you are weary traveller, rest your mind and body." Tramp jumped onto the padded bench seat and turned to face the bulldog. "Thanks, Francis wasn't it?" He nodded, "None necessary my dear fellow. You just get some kip." And before Francis turned the corner to get back to his friends he could hear Tramp snoring peacefully.  
Francis joined the rest of the company who moved into the kitchen, Rita was already half way through a sentence. "-So I've been spending all morning helping him trying to find his children. And while he's resting up I said I would carry on the search and I could really use your help. What do ya say?" Rita cast a gaze across all here friends. Tito was the first to pipe up, "Why do you wanna help him so much? What's in it for you?" Rita gave him an ashamed look, "There's nothing I want out of it, I did it cos I want to help. I know what it's like being a puppy all alone out there! And so do all of you. I just don't want those children getting themselves hurt."  
The white Husky spoke, "I didn't have to help you when me and Sean found you sheltering from the rain in a doorway, but we wanted to."  
"That's right," joined in Sean, "We did it because it was the right thing to do."  
"Alright senorita, calm down. I was just asking a question, Jesse. Don't bite my head off," Tito huffed, "How can I help?" Rita smiled, "You could start by asking around. Then get the word out to everyone we know. There can't be that many lost pups."  
"We could always try the twilight bark?" Suggested Sean. Annie laughed at him, "Don't be silly Sean. That's just superstition." Sean looked down in embarrassment and mumbled something about how it worked for some dogs in England. Rita took lead again, "OK. Sean, you take the upper west side near Grand Central park, that's where they were last seen. Annie, go up to East Harlem and work your way down. Tito, you and me are going to check out Mid Town and Lower Manhattan. Francis, you need to look after Tramp and try and find some dinner for when we get back. Everyone cool with what they're doin'? Good. Then let's go." So the Company scattered out into the growing shadow of New York city, with hope and determination.

The sun was setting on New York, but the day wasn't over yet for everyone. Dodger, Scamp and Collette tripped and stumbled in an ally way behind a row of houses in a nice looking colder sack, with well kept grass, lids on every trashcan and fences round every trees. Dodger was still being supported by the pups on either side. "OK," Dodger said in strained speech, "I need one of you to go over to that house there-" Dodger nodded towards a two story house, "-There should be a doggy door round the back. There's no car there so the humans must be out. I need u to find a Black Lab called Vienna, tell her that Billy needs help."  
"I'll go." Collette volunteered, "but who's Billy?" Dodger coughed violently, "I'll explain later." Collette nodded and then scampered off to the house. With just the support of Scamp, Dodger collapsed on the ally floor in exhaustion. The blood from the cuts and bites he got from the fight had started to clot, but there was a lot of it all over Dodger. He breaths were laboured and his vision blurry and spinning. The blood had soaked into his fur, matting it into clumps and staining his white fur with dark read. "It ok, Dodger. You're going to be fine," Scamp said, trying to comfort Dodger (and himself). "Vienna's gonna come and everything is going to be alright." Dodger smiled, "You know what kiddo- You're a- a lousy liar." Dodger wheezed a laugh that turned into painful coughing. "You think?" joked Scamp, trying to keep the mood light. "Apsitva- tvalyposa-posa-lal-" Dodger lost consciousness before he could finish his catchphrase.  
"Dodger... Dodger! WAKE UP!" Scamp started to panic, "Help! Someone help!"  
"Scamp!" came Collette's voice from the distance. "Collette! Over here!" Collette turned round the corner and ran to Scamp and Dodger, followed by a Black Lab close on heir tail. They saw Dodger passed out. "What happened?" Scamp shook his head, "I don't know. He just passed out."  
"Probably due to the lack of blood," said the Labrador, looking Dodger over. "He's still breathing but we need to work quickly. I'll need your help to move him." The pups both nodded. "OK. When I say now, lift him up." The pups took up positions, one either side of Dodger. The Lab took Dodger's tattered red bandanna in her mouth. "On three. One, Two, Three." The pups dug their heads underneath Dodger and pushed up, balancing Dodger on their heads. The Lab took most of the weight. Collette and Scamp moved round so they were supporting Dodger on their backs. All together they walked over to the house and then into the back garden. The light had gotten darker as the sun set further.  
They put him down on the grass. The pups were panicked but kept themselves calm, which the Labrador thought was good, the worst thing right now would be a couple of scared kids. "So what do we do now?" panted Scamp, exhausted from carrying Dodger. "Not much till my owners get here. Just try to clean the wounds a bit." The Labrador started to lick Dodgers cuts. After a moment Collette's ears pricked up. "I hear a sound. It's a car! Pulling up on the drive." The Lab stopped licking Dodger and tilted here head to listen. "You're right! Wait here."  
The Labrador bolted round the front of the house, barking at the two occupants getting out of the car. "Look mum. Nancy's come out to great us. Hi Girl," said an excitable boy, bending down to stroke the dog, but she pulled away from his hand. She motioned her head towards the back garden and barked a couple of time. "I think she wants us to follow her?" said the woman, slightly confused.  
The two humans followed Nancy round the back of the house, and were shocked to find two shaking puppies next to an unconscious, scruffy dog bleeding all over on the grass. "Oh dear. What happened?" Asked the woman (to herself more than anyone else), as she took in the scene in front of her. "Mum! That dog's hurt! We need to help him!" The woman approached Dodger and bent down to examine him. The two pups next to him backed off. After a moment of observation she turned to her son, "Charlie, can you go inside and lay some towels on the table please?" she calmly asked. The boy nodded and rushed inside the house. She went back to assessing Dodger. After a couple of minutes Charlie poked his head out the door, "It's done mum!" The woman sighed, "Ok boy. Let's get u fixed up." She took off her jacket and picked up Dodger. He was lighter than she expected, but he did look undernourished.  
The woman took Dodger into the kitchen and laid him down on the table. The dogs followed her into the house and she stopped them at the kitchen door. "Charlie, could you step outside and look after Nancy and the other dogs please. I'll call you if I need any help." The boy nodded and left the kitchen as his mum shut the door.  
Charlie sat down next to the door, Nancy came up to him and licked his face and he hugged her. Charlie turned to Collette and Scamp. "It's ok. Your friend's going to be fine. Mum is the best vet in Manhattan." Scamp and Collette huddled together next to the door. With all that had gone on they felt tired, and soon fell asleep, just as the moon rose into the sky.


End file.
